The Death Game
by Toshima
Summary: How did something that was supposed to be an enjoyable, occasional escape from reality, turn into a fight for their lives? Sword Art Online. Three simple words that, on their own were perfectly harmless, but put together they turned into a life or death struggle orchestrated by a mad genius for one simple reason; because he can. Rated MA for mature content. Pairings undecided


A/N: This chapter is mostly a prologue of sorts and will essentially be the 1st episode of the series with a twist.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin

"It's finally time!" a 16-year-old blond-haired boy said excitedly as he stood up and walked away from his computer to a small single-sized bed that was positioned at the back corner of his studio apartment with his desk and computed on the opposite wall with a sliding-glass door in between leading out to small balcony. With him being a student and working part-time at a convenience store, the only thing he could afford was his small studio apartment that was little more than a small living space sparsely filled by his bed, computer desk, and an old armchair. On the opposite wall of the armchair was a small, 22-inch TV with a wooden coffee table in between that had clearly seen better days. Beside the armchair was a chest-high wall that separated the living space from a very basic kitchenette that had a fridge, an oven, a sink and a few cabinets.

Lying down on his bed, he revealed that he was 5'11" with a well-toned physique, spiky blond hair, and bright blue eyes. He was currently wearing a pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. This was Naruto Uzumaki; a boy who had transferred to Japan from America 4 years ago shortly after his 12th birthday when his family died in a car crash. With no remaining family and few friends, he had decided to use what little he had inherited from his parents to travel to Japan and "start over" so to speak.

The reason for his excitement was the blue headset with a black visor he held in his hands. This headset was known as a "NerveGear"; a recently-developed technology that allowed someone to fully immerse themselves into a virtual reality that allowed them to play certain games as if it were real life.

The current game he was preparing to "Full Dive" into was the first VRMMORPG.

Sword Art Online.

Sword Art Online, or SAO for short, was the first of its kind and has been the topic of many reports all around the world. The man who created the game, Akihiko Kayaba, has been hailed as the greatest genius of his time. Only 10,000 people would be able to purchase the game and there were no pre-orders allowed. The first person to buy a copy waited in line for three days! Needless to say, all copies had flown from the shelves the same day that the game was released.

Included amongst those 10,000 players were 1,000 people who had been chosen as beta testers and were able to play the game before for 2 months prior to its official release; they also received all the equipment necessary for the game free of charge.

Naruto was one of these players.

Having spent every second of his free time immersed in the virtual world of SAO during the period of the beta test, he couldn't wait to return to the virtual world to conquer Aincrad! Putting on his NerveGear, Naruto watched the clock on the upper left portion of the HUD as it flashed "12:59". As the seconds ticked by, Naruto's grin grew wider and wider until the clock finally read "1:00"

"Link Start!"

Naruto was immediately thrown into a sort of tunnel of flashing lights in various colors before it came to a sudden halt as he underwent the systems check to make sure that all 5 of his senses were perfectly synced in the Full Dive. Once the check was complete, he was greeted by a text box.

Language Select:" Naruto decided to select Japanese, despite English being his first language.

"Character Registration"

"Naruto(M)

"Use Beta-Test Data?"

"YES/NO"

After selecting "YES", Naruto was surrounded by blue pixels after being greeted by the final message of the start-up sequence.

"WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE!"

* * *

[Floor 1: The Town of Beginnings]

Blinking his eyes open, Naruto looked at his surroundings before looking down to see he was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with orange lining at the end of his sleeves and shirt collar. His legs were covered in plain black pants that were tucked into a pair of black leather boots. Seeing a pair of lightly tanned hands wrapped in fingerless black gloves, he flexed his fingers several times and smirked as he clenched them into a tight fist.

"I'm back!"

Running through the streets, Naruto's blond, shoulder-length hair with bangs framing his face fluttered in the wind as he ignored the multitude of players that were all either socializing, looking at available gear, or just getting used to the various features and functions of this virtual world. Not wanting to waste any time, he made a sharp turn to the right as he sprinted through an alley to avoid the marketplace where the majority of players seemed to be collecting; not noticing the black-haired player wearing a baggy dark-grey, borderline black, jacket that was left open to reveal the dark blue shirt beneath it, dark-brown pants, and light brown chest armor running beside him. As Naruto turned down the alley to the right, the other player turned to the left before being stopped by someone with red hair wearing a red bandana.

* * *

[Floor 1: East Fields]

Naruto was currently running down a dirt path that would take him to a small forested area. The boars filling the meadows surrounding the Town of Beginnings would quickly be swarmed by players in their efforts to level up. However, this forested area was further out and would likely only be farmed by a few beta testers. The Boars in the meadow were only level 1 and would be easy to farm, but, even without unlocking the "Scan" ability yet, Naruto knew from the beta that the Lizardmen in this area were level 3-5 and thus provided much better experience and better drops; although they were of course far more difficult to kill. Once he reached his destination, Naruto quickly spotted a Lizardman at the edge of the tree line. Pulling his gloves tight, Naruto grinned as he ran at his prey.

"Let's dance!" Holding his left arm outstretched in front of him, Naruto cocked his right hand back to his side in a fist as it lit up in a red glow. As the Lizardman drew his sword, Naruto pulled his left arm back to his side to provide additional momentum as his glowing right fist exploded forward with a slight twisting motion that slammed into his foe's left cheek and launched it sprawling backwards several feet. Not giving the lizard any time to recover, Naruto did a front flip as his right foot lit up with a blue glow before gravity brought it down forcefully onto his downed opponent's head. Shortly after the skill was completed, the lizard shattered into a multitude of blue pixels.

Exp: 200

Col: 250

Items: 3(Potion x2, Lizard Hide)

"I love this game!" Naruto cheered with joyous laughter as he leapt into the forest to continue grinding until he would have to log out for his shift at the convenience store. This life is so much more enjoyable than real life!

* * *

[4 Hours Later]

Naruto was currently sitting on a tree branch with his legs swinging lazily as he watched the sunset. He would have to log out soon, but he just wanted to take a moment to relax and enjoy the virtual environment he was immersed in. He had spent the last few hours killing countless Lizardmen with the occasional "Forest Viper" in between and had managed to level up several times; he even managed to get some pretty rare drops for this area!

"I'll definitely need to head to the next town tomorrow; these guys are losing their bonuses." Hopping out of the tree, Naruto dragged the index and middle fingers of his right hand downward to open his menu. Scrolling down, he noticed a distinct lack of a certain option. "Where the hell is the Log Out?"

As if answering his question, he suddenly heard the bell from the plaza in the Town of Beginnings ringing before he vanished in a flash of blue light. Regaining his senses, he found himself in the plaza beside the bell tower.

"A forced teleport?" he wondered aloud as he watched the plaza fill with other players. "What the hell is going on?"

"That you, Naruto?" a familiar voice called out making him turn to see the other person who had been running alongside him earlier and the redhead that had stopped him following him like a lost puppy.

"Oh, hey Kirito; I figured I'd run into you sooner or later," Naruto smirked as he bumped fists with his raven-haired compatriot.

"So you two are buddies, huh?"

"More or less," Naruto shrugged. "So who's your little tagalong?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow earning a roll of the eyes from Kirito in response.

"Naruto, this is Klein; Klein, this is Naruto." Kirito introduced the two.

"Nice to meet ya," Klein greeted as the two of them shook hands. "So are you a beta tester too?"

"…"

"…"

"…Seriously Kirito?" Naruto looked at aforementioned player with a deadpan expression. "Was it really necessary to tell him you were a beta tester?"

"He asked," Kirito shrugged not really caring one way or the other. "He saw me running toward the west fields and asked for some pointers."

"Ah, so that's why I didn't see you in the forest," Naruto nodded in understanding before looking around. "So do you have any idea why we're all here?"

"Not a clue," Kirito frowned before a red panel saying "WARNING" appeared in the sky then replicated until the sky was completely blotted out.

"Aaaaaand the sky is bleeding…" Naruto quipped as globs of red slipped through the warning panels and started congealing into a large figure in the sky. "Cause that's not creepy as fuck…"

"Attention players; I welcome you to my world," the giant robed figure in the sky said drawing everyone's attention. "I am Akihiko Kayaba and as of this moment, I am in control of this world." Several murmurs could be heard throughout the gathering as people expressed an assortment of emotions; most prevalent of them being confusion and fear.

"Kayaba certainly knows how to make an entrance," Naruto commented as he stared at the specter claiming to be the genius who created Aincrad.

"I'm sure many of you have noticed by this point that there is a certain item missing from your main menus," Kayaba said as he opened up a menu to illustrate his point. "There is no log out button. I assure you this is not a defect in the game; it is, in fact, a feature of how Sword Art Online was designed to be. No player will be able to remove themselves from SAO and nobody on the outside may remove the Nerve Gear from your head. If anyone should try to do so, a transmitter in the headset will trigger the release of a microwave signal into your skull and destroy your brain; ending your life."

"This has to be some kind of joke, right?" Klein asked earning a shake of the head from Kirito and a low growling sound from Naruto as he clenched his fists.

"No, the transmitter in the headsets _do_ work just like microwaves. If the safety were disabled, it could easily fry your brain."

"Despite my warning, the families of several players have attempted to remove the Nerve Gear. An unfortunate decision that has resulted in the deaths of 213 players thus far.

"No way…this is insane!"

"As you can see, international media outlets have all been reporting about these incidents and are advising everyone not to interfere." Several screens appeared showing different broadcasts from around the world with all of them reporting on the events surrounding SAO; especially the deaths. "It is important to remember the following; there is no longer any way to revive someone in the game. Once your HP hits 0, your avatar will be deleted from the system…and the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain. There is only one way for you to escape now; you must clear the game. You are all currently on Floor 1. Once you find the floor's boss and defeat it, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game."

"We can't clear all 100 floors; that's impossible! The beta testers never made it even close to that high!" Klein shouted in disbelief.

"I've also taken the liberty of placing a present in each player's inventory. Please have a look."

Opening his inventory, Naruto looked to see what this "present" he was talking about was. Scrolling past the items he had collected while farming, he found what he was looking for.

"A mirror?" he asked in confusion as he took the item out and revealed that it was indeed just a small handheld mirror. Looking into it, he and all of the other players were surrounded by a blinding blue light.

"You okay Kirito?" Klein asked as he approached the black-haired swordsman.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kirito answered as he turned around. "Wait, who are you?" In front of him was a man that vaguely resembled Klein, but his hair was a bit longer and unkempt as well as a more angular face and a "scruffy" look.

"Who am I? Who are you?" Klein shot back prompting Kirito to look into the mirror from before. He was greeted by a younger, softer somewhat feminine face and short black hair with bangs framing his face and hanging to the bridge of his nose between his eyes; his real face. Looking around, several people who were girls moments ago were now guys and men that were thin as rails were now obese.

"Wait a second…" Kirito mumbled as he looked at the red-haired man once again. "Is that you Kirito/Klein?" they asked at the same time.

"But how did we…" Klein trailed off.

"When the Nerve Gear performed its scan…it can see what our faces look like…but how does it know our height and body type?" Kirito mumbled as he tried to make sense of their situation.

"It was the calibration," a new voice answered as a tall teenager with a lean, muscular build and spiky blond hair walked up to them. "Remember when you first used the Nerve Gear and it had you touch yourself all over?" the blond asked rhetorically. "It wasn't just making you molest yourself ya know."

"Are you…Naruto?" Klein asked with wide eyes as he looked at the young blond who was holding his hands behind his head.

"The one and only," Naruto smirked as he stood next to them before looking back up at Kayaba.

"At this point, you're no doubt wondering why I would do this. The reason is simple; I wanted to control a world of my own design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck." With that, the imposing figure in the sky began to disperse into a red mist before moving back between the cracks of the red warning panels and disappearing along with them to reveal the setting sun of the virtual world.

After a moment of stunned silence, the plaza erupted with the screams of the players who were beginning to grasp the reality of the situation.

"Oi, Kirito," Naruto whispered as he moved close enough for him to hear over the screaming. "I'm gonna head for Yotsuba Village; you comin along?" Kirito nodded before grabbing Klein and dragging him away from the commotion.

"Listen, we're heading for the next village; I want you to come," Kirito told the redhead as Naruto stood to the side waiting for the man's response. "The only way we're gonna survive is if we make ourselves as strong as possible. The resources around here are limited and once things calm down, the fields are gonna be filled with people trying to level up. But if we head to the next town now, we'll have an easier time collected money and exp. And don't worry; we know all the paths and places we should avoid."

"I appreciate the offer, but my friends and I bought the game together and I can't just leave them behind."

"I understand," Kirito nodded. "You're a good guy Klein; take care of yourself." Kirito turned and began to walk away with Naruto stepping up to him ready to get moving. Once Kirito and Klein were finished with their goodbyes, Naruto and Kirito began running through the alleyways until they made it out of the Town of Beginnings. Once they were a good distance away, they slowed their pace.

"You know things'll be better off if he sticks with his friends, right?" Naruto asked as he scrolled through his menu and changed his equipment so that he was now wearing studded combat gloves and a chokuto strapped across his lower back. He also donned steel armguards on his forearms. "They'll probably join a guild or something. He seemed like a 'group' kind of guy; I don't think he would really enjoy the 'solo' lifestyle," Naruto finished with a shrug before selecting something from his menu.

"Naruto has invited you to join his party!"

"YES/NO"

"You've got a point" Kirito sighed as he selected "YES" and Naruto's health bar appeared beneath his own in the corner of his HUD.

"So what level did you get to before that whole clusterfuck back there?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm still Lvl 1."

"Dude, seriously?!" Naruto cried out in disbelief. "Why the hell are you still Lvl 1?!"

"I was helping Klein, remember?" Kirito sighed. "So what level did you get to?"

"I'm Lvl 7."

"Well someone has been busy."

"What can I say?" Naruto asked rhetorically with a smirk as they continued down the road. "I'm just that awesome.

"Don't get too full of yourself just yet, blondie. So where did you get a chokuto? I thought the first one available wasn't until the 4th floor."

"About that…" Naruto said sheepishly as he opened his inventory and showed it to Kirito.

* * *

Serpent's Fang +1(Lvl 7)

STR: +4

VIT +2

END +2

DEX +9

SPD +9

ATK: 287

Additional Effects: +50 Poison Damage

* * *

"…I hate you so much right now," Kirito grumbled with a deadpanned expression. "Only you would manage to find a legendary quality item on the 1st fucking floor."

"Praise be to Lady Luck!" Naruto retorted with false sincerity as he clapped his hands together into a praying position.

"Lady Luck my ass; more like Devil's Luck!"

"…" Naruto was oddly quiet as he looked away suspiciously.

"What aren't you telling me?" Kirito glared at Naruto who was whistling innocently and steadfastly ignoring the question. "Naruto…" Kirito growled in a threatening manner.

"Alright, fine I'll show you!"

* * *

Passive Abilities:

Devil's Luck I: +2% Col Earned, +4% Drop Rate Bonus.

* * *

"…I quit!" Kirito yelled as he threw his hands in the air and walked away.

"Oh come on; don't be like that."

"Nope, I'm done with you. You're on your own!" Kirito left the party as he started running in the direction of Yotsuba Village.

Seeing a wolf spawn in the middle of the road, the black-haired swordsman continued running full tilt toward the growling canine with his sword in hand. As his blade began to glow a bright blue, he launched forward driving it straight through the wolf making it shatter into pixels.

"Tch, crybaby," Naruto mumbled with his hands behind his head as he strolled at a leisurely pace towards his destination with Kirito's silhouette fading into the distance.

"Let the games begin."

* * *

A/N: So I had originally intended to make this a NarutoXAsuna story, but now I'm not so sure. The idea of a female Kirito has been floating around in my mind lately and I've been thinking of potentially doing NarutoXAsunaXFem Kirito or even just NarutoXFem Kirito.

If I do keep Kirito male, I'm not sure exactly who I should pair him with. I honestly like the idea of KiritoXSuguha, but I would probably have to find some way to bring her into SAO unless I wait until the ALO arc so I don't think that would work out very well so it's highly unlikely(Although I could just have her go crazy and molest him in his sleep/coma XD).

Actually, now that I think about it…NarutoXSuguha could be interesting too…I may have to think this through more.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think and give me some pairing ideas; I'll probably put up a poll as well.


End file.
